NASA admin not lacking spunk

When he made the decision to fly Discovery even if one of its low-level fuel sensors failed during pre-launch testing, I gave credit to NASA administrator Mike Griffin for making a gutsy call.

Some space-watchers called former administrator Sean O’Keefe a “bean counter.” Griffin, it is believed, and as he is showing, appears to move more decisively.

So perhaps it should come as no surprise that he came out with some spunk in a teleconference with about two dozen reporters today.

“Folks have overreacted just a bit,” Griffin said, referring to a large chunk of foam that fell from the external tank during ascent.

In other words, he doesn’t believe the incident dooms the shuttle program. He doesn’t even think it will shelve the space program for a protracted period of time.

Griffin said it might even be possible for NASA to launch another shuttle this year. Atlantis had been slated for a September launch, although that is highly unlikely to happen.

Griffin also reiterated Friday that he hasn’t had to make a hard decision yet at NASA, meaning everything he’s done has been grounded in good data and sound science. He’s an engineer, and likes to make decisions that way.

Making the decision to fly the shuttle within the next six months or so would not only be a gutsy call, it would be a hard decision as well.

3 Responses

what do you think that going back to the practice of painting the external tank will reduce the aerodynamic forces on the tank and/or provide a protective shell that will hold the foam in place during launch?

Gutsy-call is fine if you are not one of the 7 that NASA may kill. NASA has shown it’s lack of concern for the safety of the crews. Unfortunately, it has bcame another bureaucratic entity that is more concerned with public image than safety

It appears that NASA has not solved the problem of debris during launch and until it does, the fleet should be grounded.